Reynolds v. Egan

47 So. 371, 122 La. 47
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedAugust 27, 1908
DocketNo. 17,250
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 47 So. 371 (Reynolds v. Egan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reynolds v. Egan, 47 So. 371, 122 La. 47 (La. 1908).

Opinions

BREAUX, C. J.

This is a proceeding for an order to be addressed to the judge of the district court to compel him to vacate his order for a suspensive appeal, and directing him to issue a writ of fieri facias on behalf of the relatrix, the plaintiff above named, and against the defendant, Miss M. L. Egan.

The ground of the application is that the defendant did not, within the 10 days after the judgment had been signed, file a bond for a susi)ensive appeal in the sum required; that for that reason and on that ground it is her (plaintiff’s and relatrix’s) legal right to have the judgment executed, and to that end to'cause a writ of fieri facias to be issued.

We are informed by the admitted facts that on the 1st day'of July, 1908, defendant and appellant filed a bond of appeal for the sum of $5,200, a sum of 859.58 less than the sum required.

The deficiency or the amount less than the sum required is made manifest by the following, copied from the proceedings:

Judgment.$3,250 00
Interest for 1 year, 6 months, 28 days 23G 39
2) $3,506 39
$1,753 19
—which, added to $3,506.39, amounts to $5,-259.58.

We are further informed by the proceedings that on the 10th day of July plaintiff, (relatrix here) took a rule to show cause why the suspensive appeal should not be dismissed and order of execution should not issue on the ground before stated.

In due time, and after hearing, the court a qua acted upon this rule, dismissed the appeal, and ordered execution to issue.

Immediately after this order had been issued, the district court allowed a suspensive appeal upon the said defendant (Miss M. L. Egan) giving bond in the sum of $5,750.

Of this order of suspensive appeal rela-trix complains, and from it she seeks relief.

We think that the order granting a sus-pensive appeal should be recalled and discharged, and execution of the judgment ordered.

The appellant, who wishes to suspend the execution of the judgment pending the appeal, has to see that a bond sufficient in amount is timely filed.

The law’s requirement in that respect does not admit of an exception to be made on behalf of any appellant. It is imperative in terms.

[49]*49The “appellant gives his obligation” for a sum exceeding by one-half the amount for ■which the judgment was rendered. Code Prac. art. 575.

Now, as to interest calculated to make up the amount for which bond should be given: Defendant’s contention is that interest should not be taken into account in making up the amount of the bond.

In fixing the amount of the bond, interest •due should be computed to the date of rendition of the judgment. Paland v. Railroad Co., 42 La. Ann. 290, 7 South. 899; Pelletier Case, 112 La. 564, 36 South. 592; Paland v. Railroad Co., 42 La. Ann. 293, 7 South. 899; State ex rel. Gorda v. Judge of the Ninth District Court, 29 La. Ann. 776. That is firmly fixed in our jurisprudence.

One of the contentions of the respondent is in effect that the relatrix, Mrs. Reynolds, is now concluded, and her remedy is to have the appeal dismissed, if she has such a right, by motion to dismiss before the court of the last instance, and that the question in that respect has passed out of the court of the first instance.

We are constrained to differ from that contention.

It is not the prevailing rule of practice.

Moreover, if that view of our learned brother of the district court — that is, that the remedy is by motion to dismiss before the Supreme Court — were sustained, even the possible error or oversight of the court of the first instance might defeat the very articles of the law regulating appeals, which direct, in substance, that a judgment shall be -executed after the delay, if a bond for a sus-pensive appeal is deficient as relates to amount.

The lawmaking authority evidently did not intend to render it possible to arrest the execution of a judgment in the manner now proposed by the defendant.

We avoid all reference to any illegality of the judgment, or to any irregularity in matter of its amount, or in matter of interest allowed. If there be anything that goes to the merits of the case, it cannot be considered at this time; the issue being whether, after the expiration of the delay, the defendant who wished to appeal, who obtained a suspensive appeal from the original judgment, but failed to give bond, can take an appeal suspe'nsively from the order vacating the suspensive appeal.

In State ex rel. Johnson v. Judge, 21 La. Ann. 113, the court held that the proper mode of bringing up the question is by writ of prohibition.

In State ex rel. Storrs v. Judge, 21 La. Ann. 735, the court in the syllabus clearly expresses the rule laid down in the decision, and for that reason it is inserted here literally:

“The Supreme Court will examine into the sufficiency of the surety on an appeal bond on application for a writ of prohibition, and if the surety is found to be good .the prohibition will issue restraining the judge from executing the judgment until the appeal is decided.”

After having considered the two decisions from which we quoted above, we closed the books, convinced that the remedy is not by suspensive appeal.

There are other decisions in point, notably State ex rel. Kane v. Judge, 23 La. Ann. 279, in which the court held that the remedy is by writ of prohibition, and the language used leaves the one impression beyond question that suspensive appeal from the interlocutory order is not the remedy.

Equally as conclusive in our minds is State ex rel. v. Judge, 23 La. Ann. 491.

Equally as pertinent is State ex rel. Dezutter v. Judge, 24 La. Ann. 316, also State ex rel. Lynne v. Judge, 24 La. Ann. 328.

We pass from a review of the foregoing decisions, which sustain, as we think, our decree, to those confidently cited and commented upon by respondent.

[51]*51The question of suspending the appeal for an indefinite time did not come up in any of the cases cited by defendant’s learned counsel.

In the first (Vredenburgh v. Behan, 32 La. Ann. 475) the cause came up on appeal, and the court deemed it proper to pass upon the solvency of the bond. The question involved was the value of the property, and the amount or value of the property owned by the security on the bond?

The court in that case held that an appeal will lie from a judgment" sustaining the sufficiency of the bond; but inferentially, at least, the court held that an appeal will not lie from a judgment ordering a fi. fa. to issue and directing that the judgment be executed.

Here no great difficulty suggests itself. It involves the issue whether an alleged insufficient bond in amount can afford ground sufficient for a suspensive appeal in such a case as the one before us for decision.

Our answer is not, if the court decides that it is insufficient.

The party, however, is not without remedy; but it is not by the suspensive appeal, the right to which has been lost.

We would pause a very long time before committing ourselves to the position that a suspensive appeal lies in the case such as the one before us.

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Bluebook (online)
47 So. 371, 122 La. 47, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reynolds-v-egan-la-1908.